Local Derby key for Sharks and Dragons to put embarrassment behind them

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Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks v St George Illawarra Dragons Thursday 7:50pm at Sharks Stadium, Woolooware / Dharawal

Thursday night football heads to the Shire as two local rivals both looking to find form hope for a desperate improvement on efforts last week as the Cronulla Sharks take on the St George Illawarra Dragons.

Just like every season, the Cronulla Sharks are hyped up and throughout the start of the season their good performances get ramped up but their form is inconsistent at best and yet again that was on show last week following their 40-10 loss last week against the New Zealand Warriors at home.

The season for the Sharks has been one of inconsistencies as they sit in fifth spot with seven wins and six losses for the season although concerning for them is the fact they have conceded 40 points in their last two matches in their loss to an undermanned Roosters and then last week against the Warriors. The Sharks were outplayed for 65 minutes of their contest with a 10-15 minute period last week where they were able to wrestle momentum back but once it swung back they barely put up a whimper in trying to fight it back an issue they've had all season.

Team wise, the Sharks are untouched by Origin selection with their only change coming through the return of Ronaldo Mulitalo from suspension whilst KL Iro is ruled out through injury. The return of Mulitalo and injury to Iro sees Mawene Hiroti move into the centres in the only change from last week for Cronulla. Toby Rudolf is an addition to the reserves with a potential return from injury on the cards.

Embarrassing is the only word to describe the St George Illawarra Dragons performance last week as all the good work of previous weeks was undone following their 56-6 loss to the Dolphins at Suncorp Stadium. The Dragons have struggled at times throughout the year but last weeks effort was their worst of the season.

The ladder position of the Red ‘V' is probably flattered by the fact they've had two byes as they sit in eleventh although with the same number of wins as the Panthers, Tigers and Knights who have as many wins. The performance last week was that of a bottom placed side with no real positives of note with the Dolphins dominating almost every stat.

The task of bouncing back from such a heavy loss isn't made any easier for Dragons coach Shane Flanagan with star centre Valentine Holmes as expected called up for Origin duty whilst losing Christian Tuipulotu and Raymond Faitala-Mariner through injury and health concerns. Tyrell Sloan and Corey Allan come into the team for Tuipulotu and Holmes whilst Emre Guler comes back into the starting side after being reserve last week and Blake Lawrie switching to that role.

Last meeting: Round 25 2024 - Dragons 10 Sharks 38

Who to watch: 

It's always easy to pick one of the halves but for the Sharks Nicho Hynes comes into big focus. Hynes has always been a player with a big focus but it's easy to say these days that he hasn't delivered and last week was a good example of that. The kicking game from Hynes has been off the mark for a while and the options that he takes are poor such as the intercept pass he threw last week. The Sharks need Hynes to find form because if he doesn't, then it can be a slippery slope for Cronulla.

Clint Gutherson left Parramatta for the Dragons as part of a rebuild at the Red ‘V' and Gutho was meant to be the spark at the back that they needed amongst their high profile recruits. The Spark that Gutho has brought has been a mere flash at rare times this season as his impact on the side has been a lot less than expected. A strong fullback, Gutho hasn't had the dynamic season he has had in the pass at Parramatta and only running over 200m twice this season has been a downfall for the Red ‘V'. The Dragons will need a big performance from Gutherson to win against Cronulla.

The favourite: Cronulla are favourites

My tip:  The Sharks have been poor the past two weeks, but their side should be too strong for the Dragons. There just doesn't seem to be a next level for the Red ‘V' especially after last week and Cronulla will try to prove something and in respect a game against a bottom 8 side has been their bread and butter. This is the sort of game where they'll lure most into thinking how good they are with a big win. Sharks by 16.

1. William Kennedy 2. Sione Katoa 3. Jesse Ramien 4. Mawene Hiroti 5. Ronaldo Mulitalo 6. Braydon Trindall 7. Nicho Hynes 8. Addin Fonua-Blake 9. Blayke Brailey 10. Oregon Kaufusi 11. Briton Nikora 12. Teig Wilton 13. Cameron McInnes 14. Daniel Atkinson 15. Jesse Colquhoun 16. Siosifa Talakai 17. Braden Hamlin-Uele 18. Tuku Hau Tapuha 19. Hohepa Puru 20. Jayden Berrell 21. Toby Rudolf 22. Billy Burns

1. Clinton Gutherson 2. Nathan Lawson 3. Moses Suli 4. Corey Allan 5. Tyrell Sloan 6. Lyhkan King-Togia 7. Kyle Flanagan 8. Emre Guler 9. Damien Cook 10. David Klemmer 11. Luciano Leilua 12. Toby Couchman 13. Jack de Belin 14. Jacob Liddle 15. Hamish Stewart 16. Loko Jnr Pasifiki Tonga 17. Hame Sele 18. Blake Lawrie 19. Lachlan Ilias 20. Michael Molo 21. Nicholas Tsougranis 22. Sione Finau